JAMES SAYS Mentoring is something I'd highly recommend - it can be incredibly valuable having someone who can use the benefit of their experience to help navigate your journey IS COACHING A BETTER OPTION FOR YOU? Coaching focuses on high performance and improvement at work. It often targets specific goals and skills rather than personal attributes and long-term development. A big difference between the two styles of work is the length of time the process lasts. Coaching will typically last for a short, defined period of time, while mentoring is a long-term relationship-based investment. Both can be used for a Team coaching builds employees' confidence variety of sectors, but you should always understand fully what you are looking to gain from the training before choosing the type you will opt for and investing in it. TYPES OF COACHING Executive coaching - one-to-one for performance. n Work shadowing - immediate feedback on behaviours. n Career coaching - which path may be suited to you and how to take solid steps forward. n Skills coaching - targets any specific skill sets. n Team coaching - group work that helps to build confidence. n THE MAIN DIFFERENCES COACHING Short-term option Performance-driven Formal, structured meetings Task-orientated MENTORING Long-term option Development-driven Informal Relationship-orientated 152 WORDS: JADE HARDING | PHOTOGRAPHY: SHUTTERSTOCK are similar or the same, but they aren't. Both are great initiatives for business, from developing new techniques to enhancing skills, but you will use them to achieve separate targets.